Ellen Greenberg of West Long Branch, NJ, passed away peacefully on September 29, 2026 at the age of 90.
Ellen was born Ellen Joan Pevzner, in New York City on May 28, 1936 to the late Fay and Sam Pevzner. Ellen attended area NYC public schools and then the High School of Commerce, where she was an honor student. Following high school, Ellen worked as a secretary while attending City College of New York full time. She received her Masters from Columbia University. Ever the adventurer, at age 17, she and a friend bicycled around Europe. The travel bug took Ellen to many parts of the world during her long life, including England, Ireland, France, Italy, Israel, Jordan, China, and the Bahamas.
Ellen was an elementary school teacher, first in Newark, NJ, then in Harlem and finally in Great Neck, L.I., where she taught for over 20 years. She created a lasting impact not only on her students, but on her daughter and granddaughter as well. She would always bring up having 3 generations of teachers under one roof, something she was extremely proud of.
Her husband Mel was an avid boater, and he and Ellen spent a lot of time on the waters of Long Island Sound and beyond on their recreational trawler. One long-distance trip took them to the Bahamas. This spurred the purchase of a house on the island of Exuma, which became a vacation destination during the 1980s and early 90s.
In the 1990s, retired from teaching, Ellen and Mel moved to the small Berkshires town of Alford, Mass., just outside Great Barrington, where they opened a successful real estate business. Ellen sold real estate and helped run the busy office. She enjoyed the open countryside of the Alford hills and the many cultural treasures nearby. They started a llama farm with 11 animals, bringing them to nursing homes, camps, fairs and parades in their “llama bus”
As if she didn’t have enough on her plate, she began tutoring English as a Second Language. She also volunteered as a docent for the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass., the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, Mass. and put in endless hours at Berkshire Bounty, a food distribution program.
Ellen’s true passion was exercise classes in the pool. She loved the comradery that she had with the “mermaids” in Massachusetts. After moving to New Jersey in 2023, Ellen joined swim classes at the JCC and enjoyed it so much she attended 5 days a week.
Ellen was preceded in death by her husband, Melvin Greenberg. She is survived by her daughter Jill and her husband, Jamie Blake, of West Long Branch, her granddaughter, Samantha Blake, of West Long Branch, and grandson, Justin Blake and his wife Stephanie Yee of Shark River Hills, and her great grandchildren Ben & Cassie. She is also survived by her brother, Michael Pevzner of Kingston, Mass. and his family.
A memorial gathering will held at Thompson Memorial Home at 310 Broad Street in Red Bank, NJ on Saturday, October 17, from 3 -5 pm.
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